Silicon Valley may have not wanted Donald Trump to be the next U.S. president. But @realDonaldTrump, the president-elect’s Twitter handle, could breath new life into Twitter, the struggling internet firm.

For Trump, with more than 16 million followers, Twitter is a giant bullhorn that can be heard around the world. During his campaign, he used Twitter to attack critics, to pump himself up, to yank the media’s chain and most importantly, speak directly to people without any filters, which has always been Twitter’s most exciting and terrifying draw.

Now that Trump has crossed into the realm of future leader of the free world, many people expected his inner tweeter to find other outlets or maybe disappear behind the official screen of White House propriety and decorum.

Instead, “Did you see what Trump said on Twitter today?” is becoming a common refrain. Trump’s Twitter feed is the 21st century version of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s radio fireside chats.

What Trump as the Tweeter-in-chief means for the U.S., the world and governing remains to be seen. But if he keeps using the platform as he has been, Trump could be Twitter’s biggest draw.

Twitter has always benefited from celebrity tweeters and major news events. Now that tweets are available in Google search results, Twitter is accessible to more people than ever, even to those who don’t go near the actual site.

For Twitter, @realDonaldTrump is like the Olympics, Katy Perry and the World Cup rolled into one.

Yes, I know President Barack Obama broke ground with his use of technology and social media, both as a candidate and in office. But for his 79 million followers and others who see presidential tweets, @BarackObama’s Twitter feed remains largely positive and bland. Uplifting messages about America. Wishing everyone a good holiday. Thanking our service men and women.

Compare that to Trump, and his inner circle, who in the past two weeks have taken to Twitter to set the world on edge.

Last weekend, Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager and part of his inner circle, took to Twitter to campaign against Mitt Romney becoming Secretary of State. Don’t these things get hashed out behind closed doors? Apparently not in Trumpland.

Receiving deluge of social media & private comms re: Romney Some Trump loyalists warn against Romney as sec of state https://t.co/HDtpjeJTc3

Then, Trump himself kicked off a round of commentary and consternation when he tweeted more than a dozen times about the post-election effort to recount the vote in three states. Without evidence, Trump claimed he would have won the popular vote but for fraud.

In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally

Twitter’s stock wallows in the $18 range, far from the $26 it hit in October when Google, Verizon and Salesforce were reportedly looking to buy it. The internet service has struggled in the past couple years as user growth has slowed, and it has yet to wow advertisers with its ability to monetize the regular users it has. Twitter has been criticized as well for the amount of abuse on its site, including from some Trump supporters.

When Twitter couldn’t find a suitor, it instituted job cuts. There’s been talk about Twitter becoming a non-profit so that it can thrive without the pressures of a public company.

As Trump might tweet, Sad!

Twitter has always aspired to be a mainstream service, not just a hangout for media, celebrities, and special interest groups. Here’s its chance to figure out how to take all those eyeballs going to Trump’s tweets and turn them into regulars who feel like they need the service every day.

With each jab and joust on Twitter, Trump may make Twitter this era’s must see TV, the place many will gather around to figure out what’s happening in the world.

Michelle Quinn is a business columnist for the Bay Area News Group. Prior to her current role, she was the Silicon Valley correspondent at Politico covering tech policy and politics. She has also covered the tech industry at the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. She was a blogger for the New York Times.

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